This simple skillet is full of flavor that the whole family will love with hearty meatballs, and soft, pillowy gnocchi!
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Ringing in the new year…and a new family favorite skillet dinner!
It’s been the strangest holiday break, with much milder temperatures than we are used to here in Michigan! Our snow gear is completely neglected, and while my kids are missing their favorite winter powder, I’m enjoying soaking in some extra sunshine, and totally loving it! We’ve had a great balance of “busy” and rest during the last couple holiday months, and I wanted to share a new skillet dinner that every single family member is loving. I hope it helps you plan some meals into your winter meal plan!
Meatballs and Gnocchi – another “one pot wonder!”
Whether it’s a sheet pan dinner, a whole dinner in a big soup pot, or a full dinner in a skillet, “one pot wonder” dinners have become a staple on my weekday meal plan. Less dishes to clean, quicker cook time – what’s not to love? This skillet dinner is packed with kid favorite meatballs in a hearty, rich sauce tossed with a new freezer favorite of mine this year – cauliflower gnocchi!
What is cauliflower gnocchi?
Gnocchi are traditional Italian pastas typically made with potato, flour, and egg. In their simplest form, I just adore this idea, and it makes for a fun change up to regular pasta, or starchy veg side. It’s really hard to find much of any kind of gnocchi with simple ingredients in stores that are around me. It is really (really!) hard to find gluten free gnocchi. Last winter, I discovered the cauliflower gnocchi during my once a month trip to Trader Joe’s. I’ve been having a really fun time playing around with them this year! With an ingredient list of just cauliflower, cassava flour, potato starch, olive oil, and salt, this gnocchi is definitely worth putting on your grocery list on the regular!
Let’s talk about the meatballs!
In my experience, make any dinner heavy on the meatballs, and the kids will be all over it! These meatballs are delicious, packed with flavor, and the classic, kid friendly size and shape for little hands! Meatballs are also a great medium for adding nutrient loaded organ meat like liver if you use that in your diet. I typically have liver in the deep freezer and like to add a good 1/4 cup or so of grated liver per pound of beef.
The Method :: The Meatball Mixture
I used blended up oats for the “breadcrumbs” in this recipe, but any panko or breadcrumb that you like to use will work too. You’ll start with a quick pulse of the oats in a blender if you are using them. Use a grater to shred some onion and garlic as well. There is flavor as well as moisture that comes from this step, so don’t skip it! Add the oats, onion, and garlic to a mixing bowl with the rest of the meatball ingredients and gently mix to combine.
The Method :: Roll & Brown the Meatballs
You’ll want to heat up your skillet while you roll the meatballs, so it is nice and hot once you’re ready to add the meatballs in to brown up. I like to use a cookie scoop for more even sizing, but for years (and years!), I never had a cookie scoop and made meatballs just fine by hand. Roll them up and place them on a plate or board. Once your olive oil is nice and hot in the pan, you can brown up all of the meatballs. My skillet is large enough to get all of them in at once, but if yours is smaller you can brown them up in batches. You won’t be cooking the meatballs all the way through. Simply brown the sides, and set the meatballs aside while you make the sauce and gnocchi.
The Method :: Cooking the Gnocchi
The rest of this one skillet dinner goes quite quickly, and the ingredients are so simple. In the leftover oil, saute the onion and garlic until fragrant, and then toss in the gnocchi to cook. The gnocchi goes into the skillet frozen, and will take a good 5-7 minutes to thaw and get golden.
The Method :: The Meatballs and Gnocchi Skillet Sauce
Once the gnocchi is golden, deglaze the pan with some wine or broth, and add the spinach in to wilt. As the spinach cooks down, you’ll pour in your spaghetti sauce or marinara and combine the sauce together. Then, gently add the meatballs in to the sauce, add a lid, and simmer the skillet for 10 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through.
Garnish options and swaps for your Meatballs and Gnocchi Skillet
We get a really yummy imported Parmigiano Reggiano at Costco that I like to garnish this skillet dinner with. If you can’t have parm, or don’t have it on hand, you can leave the skillet as is, use whatever cheese you like, or garish with more breadcrumbs and pop the skillet under the broiler to crisp up.
Ingredients
- FOR THE MEATBALLS ::
- 1/3 cup rolled oats pulsed in a blender to "breadcrumb" size
- ½ red onion grated
- 2 cloves of garlic minced or grated
- 1 lb grassfed ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos or Worchester sauce. This can be omitted but does give good flavor
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- FOR THE MEATBALL GNOCCI SKILLET ::
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil to cook in
- ½ red onion diced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 – 12-ounce bags of Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi keep frozen until use
- 1/3 cup red wine this is for deglazing and depth of flavor, but if you can’t have wine, use broth
- 4-5 cups baby spinach
- 1 – 24-ounce jar of spaghetti sauce or marinara
- Optional Parmigiano Reggiano
Instructions
ROLL THE MEATBALLS ::
- Gently combine all meatball ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Roll 1 ½ to 2-inch meatballs, and set them aside on a plate or board. I like to use a cookie scoop for keeping the meatball size even.
BROWN THE MEATBALLS ::
- Warm 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. I like to use my cast iron skillet. Once the oil is nice and hot, put the meatballs into the skillet and brown on 2-3 sides. This will take a total of 5-7 minutes. The meatballs will not be fully cooked inside – just get a golden crust on the outside. Once the meatballs are browned, transfer them to a clean plate or board. Keep the oil in the pan to cook the rest of the skillet.
ASSEMBLE THE REST OF THE SKILLET ::
- Using the leftover oil in the skillet from cooking the meatballs, add the onion and garlic to the oil and cook over medium high heat for a couple minutes until fragrant.
- Add the frozen gnocchi, toss to combine, and cook for about 7 minutes until the gnocchi is cooked and has some color on the sides.
- Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan. Add the spinach here too, mix to combine and let the spinach wilt a little.
- Pour in the spaghetti sauce, and mix all of the skillet ingredients into the sauce.
- Put the meatballs back into the skillet gently. Cover the skillet with a lid, and cook over low to medium heat for 10 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through. You want the skillet sauce to be at a low simmer.
- Top each bowl with parmigiano Reggiano if you wish!
Notes
- You can use any breadcrumb or panko in place of the oats if you wish. I always have oats on hand, and don’t always have gluten free panko or breadcrumbs, so oats is usually my go to.
super yummy and simple! thank you
So glad you enjoyed it Sarah! You’re welcome!
That looks yummy and comforting! Would sliced mushrooms be good in this? Too odd with the cauliflower?
Hi Lindsay! Yes, mushrooms would be fantastic! I’d sautee them before the gnocchi!